Sesquicentennial – The Civil War Remembered

Reflections of General Robert E. Lee

To commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the civil war, ‘Country Joe’ Rosier is performing two one acts: one as Robert E. Lee and the other as Ulysses S. Grant. Rosier, also a trial lawyer, researched both generals for years, following their lives by visiting the towns they lived in and the battlefields they led. He has spent the last year writing and perfecting these two iconic generals. 

If Story Teller ‘Country Joe’ Rosier’s embodiment of Ulysses S. Grant is as engrossing and detailed as his encapsulation of Robert E. Lee, then this review will be all you need to watch either. However, the following covers only the Lee performance as both are separate productions.

Robert E. Lee is at this time speaking to faculty, graduates, and guests at Washington College (what is now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, VA on July 19, 1870, after five years of serving as its president. He reminisces about his upbringing, his family, how he became a military general, his decisions during the civil war, and his eventual surrender.

There are stories within stories here, and Rosier is riveting as Lee. Rosier palpably communicates Lee’s pain at seeing the country divided and his regret with the decisions that followed.

 

Susquicentennial: The Civil War Remembered

by Joe Rosier
60 minutes
at Caos on F
923 F Street NW
Washington, DC, 20004
Details and tickets

Physically and vocally he is transfixing, instantaneously transporting you to 1870. In fact, Lee’s moments of silence are just as captivating as when he is speaking. You want to know what he is thinking. This is no small feat in live theater.

Rosier, as Lee, also cleverly and smoothly uses real source material in the show, presenting letters that touch on the larger political landscape or his personal life.

History buff or passerby, Country Joe’s latest brings the past to life: literally.

– More Capital Fringe 2013 reviews –